Hartland Primary School Ofsted Report

Full report

What does the school need to do to improve further?

• The headteacher and governors must ensure that they:
  • work together to make improvements more quickly to secure good standards in all areas
  • raise the expectations of staff so that pupils, including those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, can achieve their potential
  • develop and support the middle leaders so that they improve the quality of teaching and pupils’ outcomes in their areas of responsibility
  • improve leadership for the early years foundation stage so that the monitoring and support of the work in the pre-school and Reception class leads to more children making exceptional progress in their early learning goals.
• Improve the quality of teaching by ensuring that:
  • opportunities for extended writing feature in all subjects and not just literacy lessons. An external review of governance should be undertaken in order to assess how this aspect of leadership and management may be improved.

Inspection judgements

Effectiveness of leadership and management Requires improvement

• The headteacher has dealt with many staffing changes and long-term absences since her secondment in September 2015. This affected the speed of implementation and consolidation of the improvements needed to ensure that the school remained good. Staffing is not yet settled and secure but a secondment from the trust has meant the school has enough teachers to cover all classes so better progress in learning is now taking place.
• Leadership of the school, including the early years foundation stage and pre-school, has not been able to secure progress rapidly in the many areas that needed addressing following the poor results in 2015 and 2016.
• The appointment of a middle leader to take responsibility for mathematics was made in January 2017. Work on reasoning and problem solving is being developed, but it is too soon to comment on its impact.
• The use of funding for pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities has not been effective in the past and pupils have not made good progress. Since September 2016, the headteacher has secured the services of an independent educational psychologist to identify more effectively those pupils who should be on the special educational needs register. He has supported the special educational needs coordinator in providing better intervention strategies and evaluating their impact in improving pupils’ progress. There has been, so far, greater success in the management of behavioural and attitudinal problems than of academic achievement.
• The headteacher’s checks on the quality of teaching have not focused sufficiently on the progress that pupils make. They have been successful in improving pupils’ engagement, enjoyment and development of intellectual curiosity in learning.
• The curriculum is broad and balanced and includes subjects such as Spanish. However, it is not providing pupils with enough opportunities to develop their writing skills in other subjects, particularly in key stage 1 and the early years of key stage 2.
• The school received much external support from the local authority during the year following the poor results in 2015, which added to the professional dialogue for teaching staff. It did not provide enough rigour or robust evaluation to ensure that improvements were rapid.
• The headteacher has engaged and motivated the staff by using continuous professional development to improve teaching and provide leadership opportunities. The school is a part of the local cooperative trust and a teaching school alliance, which has enabled staff to visit local schools and work with other colleagues to improve practice.
• The physical education and sport premium funding is used well. Staff are trained effectively and their skills have improved, as well as their confidence. Pupils gain from this by doing a greater range of activities, including dance and tennis.
• There are a range of extra-curricular activities, mainly sporting. The headteacher evaluates the attendance of pupils, including those who are disadvantaged or have special educational needs and/or disabilities, to ensure that any barriers to participating are removed.
• Leaders have been successful in maintaining engagement with parents despite the lack of daily face-to-face contact because some pupils come to school on buses. The headteacher has initiated mornings where parents come in to work with their children in class, and this has been very well received and appreciated.
• The disadvantaged pupils are doing as well as other pupils in the school and achieved as well as or better than other pupils nationally in the end of year tests at key stage 2 in reading, writing and mathematics.
• The spiritual, moral, social and cultural education of the pupils is taught well and there are very good links with the local churches. Although pupils go through a democratic process of election to the school council, the fundamental British values, including democracy, are not taught well enough.

Governance of the school

• There has been a time of turbulence in the governance of the school since the last inspection. This has led to unstable strategic leadership, which has impeded the progress necessary for the school. Several of the governors are new. They are learning about the strategic importance of their role. However, the rigorous support and challenge needed has been absent and the urgency required to manage the improvements has not materialised. It is recommended that a review take place to help speed up the process.

Safeguarding

• The arrangements for safeguarding are effective.
• The headteacher has ensured that pupils are safe and secure in the school at all times. She has raised expectations with regard to safeguarding practices and supported staff in having a better understanding of how to assess risks consistently. This has created a culture of safety.
• All safeguarding arrangements are fit for purpose and child protection records are detailed and of high quality. The safeguarding policy is up to date. Staff have been suitably trained in the most recent changes to safeguarding procedures. The headteacher’s senior administrator, who is also clerk to the governors, is one of the designated safeguarding leaders, so her oversight of the safeguarding records provides an additional layer of security as well as information for governance. Staff work sensitively with parents and external agencies to monitor and support the more vulnerable pupils.

Quality of teaching, learning and assessment Requires improvement

• Teaching over time in writing does not consolidate and deepen pupils’ learning, especially for the younger pupils. This is because expectations are not consistently high enough and extended writing is not set proficiently in the wider curriculum.
• Some teachers and teaching assistants are not picking up on pupils’ misconceptions and weaknesses on a regular basis, so pupils continue to make the same mistakes.
• Similarly, too often when work is missed because of pupil absence, the topics are not covered with the pupil at a later date, so there are gaps in pupil knowledge.
• The teaching of mathematics is strong and there is good evidence of pupils using reasoning and problem solving to develop their mathematical understanding.
• Pupils are keen to talk about their learning and what works well for them. They appreciate the challenging tasks that they receive, particularly within the core subjects of English and mathematics.
• The majority of pupils read fluently. The school provides guidance so pupils know which books to read according to their ability and this builds effectively on prior learning.
• There has been intensive training for teachers and teaching assistants in phonics, and this has improved progress for younger pupils in their reading and spelling. There are new initiatives within guided reading to support pupils’ comprehension skills, but it is too soon to measure their impact.

Personal development, behaviour and welfare Good

Personal development and welfare

• The school’s work to promote pupils’ personal development and welfare is good.
• Pupils are confident and assured when speaking to each other, teachers and other adults.
• Pupils are eager to be successful in their learning and the opportunities provided for special rewards such as the ‘star writers display’ make them determined to do better.
• The leader of the sport premium funding has made a significant contribution to the physical well-being of the pupils by boosting the confidence of all staff teaching physical activities and by supporting the extra-curricular clubs on offer, which are well attended.
• From the pre-school upwards, pupils are aware of healthy eating and the benefits that this provides. The school kitchen provides daily healthy lunches for pupils and members of the village community.
• Pupils are safe and know how to stay safe. They are taught regularly about the dangers of the internet so their awareness of e-safety is good. Bullying incidents are very rare. Pupils understand what bullying is and can explain articulately why it is not tolerated in school.

Behaviour

• The behaviour of pupils is good.
• Pupils understand the conduct routines expected when learning. They listen attentively to each other and teachers; they understand the importance of speaking politely and taking turns.
• Pupils are very proud of their school and show this constantly. They value the informative displays, both of their own work and that of others.
• The integration and management into the school community of pupils with highly complex and demanding needs is a strong feature of the school. Pupils have learned how to respect and work with staff and other pupils.
• Overall attendance has improved and the number of pupils who are persistently absent has decreased so that the school is in line with national averages. Likewise, the attendance of some groups, particularly disadvantaged pupils and those who have special educational needs and/or disabilities, is at or close to national averages because of the continual work of the headteacher to make a difference for pupils.

Outcomes for pupils Requires improvement

• Outcomes in 2015 and 2016 at key stage 2 were very poor. In 2016, they placed the school among the bottom 5% of schools nationally in reading and mathematics with regard to pupils’ progress. Pupils taking the end of year tests at key stage 2 were of high ability in the main, so their attainment was in line with the national average in writing and mathematics. However, these outcomes masked the lack of progress from their starting points.
• Pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities are not making adequate progress because expectations of their achievement are too low. As a result, pupils are not achieving the expected attainment for their ability. The support has focused on nurture rather than on educational standards.
• The monitoring of pupils is far more rigorous now and focuses on the achievement and progress of individuals and their needs. Consequently, pupils’ progress is more rapid, especially in mathematics, and is getting closer to national averages.
• Older pupils, in Years 5 and 6, are showing greater depth in their knowledge across the curriculum. This is because teaching is developing pupils’ thinking skills effectively through incisive questioning and more challenging tasks.
• The careful analysis of the progress of disadvantaged pupils and the refined use of the funding has ensured that these pupils make progress that is at least as good as that of their peers, and often better.
• Progress in reading is improving as a result of the changes to teaching within key stage 1. Pupils enjoy the range of books on offer within classes and the library, and the reading done at home and school is assisting in developing the breadth of experience in this area further. However, understanding of inferences and subtleties of writing techniques is not as secure.

Early years provision Requires improvement

• Some children in the early years, mainly the most able children, do not make the progress of which they are capable. These children are not as well prepared academically for Year 1 as they could be.
• Teaching in the Reception class is not fully effective because planning is not detailed or focused on the individual needs of children. Consequently, the plans are not having the desired impact.
• Support has been provided in the past year by external advisers, but some support has lacked the rigour necessary to ensure that children are progressing as well as they could.
• Although planning is shared between the pre-school and Reception class, there is not sufficient cross-fertilisation of ideas, so progress is not rapid. For example, there is not enough writing done formally in the Reception class and only a limited amount of other work is set to support progress within the different academic elements required. The practice in the pre-school is better.
• Children respond well to adults. They take responsibility for their actions eagerly. They are keen to learn. Children show resilience and tenacity over an extended time when allowed to do so.
• Children are settled in their learning, particularly in Reception. The routines established in both the pre-school and Reception ensure that children respect the equipment used. Children are polite to each other and to staff. They are enthusiastic about being involved and are gaining confidence in their own abilities.
• Parents have a good understanding of the progress made by their children; the teacher, pre-school staff and parents actively share information with one another.
• Children’s personal and social development is strong because staff know the children well. Activities are set up where children can integrate, learn to share and take turns without undue fuss and bother.
• Staff have created a learning environment to engage children. However, the threads for literacy and numeracy are not used advantageously enough in Reception, inside and out.
• Children are safe and the safeguarding practices are robust.

School details

Unique reference number 113152 Local authority Devon Inspection number 10025051 This inspection was carried out under section 8 of the Education Act 2005. The inspection was also deemed a section 5 inspection under the same Act. Type of school Primary School category Maintained Age range of pupils 2 to 11 Gender of pupils Mixed Number of pupils on the school roll 117 Appropriate authority The governing body Chair Jacquie Goaman Headteacher Naomi Tottle Telephone number 01237 441258 Website www.hartland.devon.sch.uk Email address admin@hartland.devon.sch.uk Date of previous inspection 18–19 September 2012

Information about this school

• The school does not meet requirements on the publication of information about the accessibility plan on its website.
• The school is a member of the Atlantic Coast Cooperative Trust with Appledore Primary, Buckland Brewer Primary, Instow Primary, Northam Federation, Parkham Primary, St Mary’s Primary, and Woolsery Primary. It is also a member of the Dartmoor Teaching School Alliance. This is based at Okehampton College and has 16 secondary and 26 primary schools within it.
• Hartland Primary School is smaller than the average primary school.
• The headteacher was appointed in January 2016.
• The proportion of pupils who have special educational needs and/or disabilities is below the national average.
• The proportion of pupils supported by the pupil premium funding is above the national average.
• The school has a very wide rural catchment area and some pupils travel on three buses to and from school.
• The school did not meet the government’s current floor standards, which set the minimum expectations for pupils’ attainment and progress in reading, writing and mathematics at the end of Year 6.

Information about this inspection

• The lead inspector visited lessons jointly with the headteacher.
• A wide sample of pupils’ work, from all year groups and a range of subjects, was scrutinised.
• The lead inspector talked with a group of pupils from key stage 2, as well as with pupils informally across the site.
• Meetings were held with the headteacher, middle leaders and members of the governing body. A telephone call was made to the school improvement officer.
• Information was evaluated, including that relating to safeguarding, assessment, school evaluation and external reviews.
• The lead inspector took account of the 30 responses to and 18 comments in the online Parent View survey, the 57 responses to the pupil survey and the 19 responses to the staff online survey.

Inspection team

Kathy Maddocks, lead inspector Her Majesty’s Inspector